


The One Where They Dance

by Kedreeva



Series: The One Where... [1]
Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: Dancing, Fluff, Multi, Threegulls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 16:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5464058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kedreeva/pseuds/Kedreeva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Gulls enjoy a few soft moments at the local fall festival with cider, donuts, dancing, and kisses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One Where They Dance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [serendipityxxi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipityxxi/gifts).



            Audrey laughed as Duke tugged her around to the back side of the small yellow-and-white tent, his long fingers twined cold in hers. When they rounded the corner, he put his back to the wall, whirled her just enough that she was facing him. She steadied herself on his chest with both hands laid over the buttons and strings of his coat, careful not to lean into him _too_ much; she knew he wasn’t braced on anything substantial.

            Her nimble fingers wriggled under his outer layer, seeking the warmth of his body to ease the ache the cold autumn air had given her. She felt his smile against her ear as he pulled her in closer, his arms snaking over her shoulders. She buried her own smile in the warmth of his neck, cold nose to his skin.

            “Sorry,” he mumbled, the happiness in his tone implying he wasn’t sorry at all. He kissed her temple and resettled, keeping her wrapped up close. “You just looked so cold.”

            Flexing her fingers into his sides so he would squirm a little, she said: “You just wanted a hug.”

            “I always want hugs,” Duke countered, shifting so that his forearms rested lightly on her shoulders and he could look her in the eyes. “And kisses,” he continued, bowing enough to capture her lips for the briefest of sweet kisses. His thumb found the soft spot under her ear, traced a warm line down the edge of her neck, sending a shiver crawling down her spine. “And touches.”

            “Duke,” she said, not sure if it was meant to scold or beg him. They were in public, she tried to remind herself. Unfortunately the parts of her that usually cared were intensely focused on the press of his fingers at her collarbone, and didn’t seem to care about anything else.

            His soft puff of laughter felt warm against her cheek, and then he pulled back, head lifting to something she couldn’t see. When she turned, she caught sight of Nathan standing at the corner of the tent, three paper cups of hot mulled cider in his hands and a muted smile on his lips.

            “Don’t stop on account of me,” he said, though he didn’t resist when Duke reached out for one of the cups. He pulled it back far enough that Duke had to lean close enough for a kiss.

Audrey reluctantly pulled her hands from Duke’s warmth, trading it for one of the steaming mugs. It was hot, almost too hot still, but the cardboard cup dulled the heat to her hands. She knew the heat would burn her tongue, and even though Nathan had been able to feel for half a year now, she still watched to make sure he didn’t start gulping right away.

            “Thanks,” she said, settling close to Nathan and smiling over the lip of the cup without taking a sip. It smelled  _amazing_ , like apples and spices and heat. “What’s next?”

            They had already been through a good portion of the Haven Fall Fest, meandering down Main Street, the boys ranging out from Audrey to this booth or that booth while she took in the sights and smells. Nathan had already purchased a small bag of scented tea lights and Duke had brought back three packages of powdered dip mixes he was intensely excited about for reasons Audrey couldn’t discern.

            “There’s cinnamon sugar apple donuts,” Nathan said, voice rough from the cold. He shrugged his coat a little higher on his shoulders, adjusting now that he was free of the extra cups. “Didn’t have enough hands.”

            Audrey leaned against Nathan’s side, thrilled just a little at the way he instantly reacted to brace for the added pressure he could feel. “We could give you a few more hands,” she said with a grin.

            Nathan’s snort was soft and fond. “I’m sure.” He didn’t sound convinced that their hands would be all that helpful in a donut-retrieval endeavor. He was probably right.

            “I could go get them,” Duke offered, much more helpfully. “Let you two stay here for a little bit… But I would like to remind you that the band starts playing soon.”

            Audrey felt Nathan straighten, and she pressed into him. She knew how he’d  _felt_ about dancing, when he couldn’t feel his own feet, but things were different now. Better. “I could use another dance,” she said softly. “Our first one kind of got interrupted.”

            Even though she was looking at Nathan, she saw Duke stiffen slightly at the reminder of their high school reunion. She didn’t want either of them shying away from the memories, burying whatever they felt about it, but she didn’t want to push them unduly either. Surprisingly, it was Nathan who relaxed first.

            “Yeah,” he said, then cleared his throat when the word stuck. “We should head over.”

            Audrey stared at him for a moment longer, and then held out her hand. He slipped his finger through hers, and she looked hopefully over at Duke, who gave her an indulgent smile and a nod. When she and Nathan moved to head for the police department’s parking lot, Duke veered off to pick up donuts and meet them.

            Upon reaching the parking lot, Audrey tugged Nathan over to a location where they would be easily visible when Duke returned, and then settled in against his side. He shifted to wrap one arm around her as they waited. She blew gently on her cider, paid attention without looking when Nathan took his own first sip and hissed at the heat. It wasn’t the kind of noise he made when he hurt himself, so she let the liquid touch her lips, rolling the almost-too-hot feeling over her tongue to savor the rich flavor as it cooled to her temperature.

            Just as the first reedy notes of the band checking their instruments began to thread into the air, Duke turned up, wax-paper bag in hand. He passed out still-warm cinnamon-apple donuts, first to Audrey, then to Nathan, tossing the bag into the closest trash can when he had pulled out his own treat.

            Audrey bit into hers with relish, sure that the pleased noise she made was not on the spectrum of noises humans should make while eating donuts. She didn’t care. Rosemary made the literal best cinnamon-apple flavored cider donuts, and she only made them for this festival, and Audrey planned to go buy three dozen more without regretting it at all.

            Beside her, Duke cleared his throat, his fingers pressed a little too tightly into the donut he was holding. “I’d ask how it is, but I think you just answered,” he said, voice taut in just the way Audrey liked. She made a face at him that was more smile than snark, and took another bite.

            They stayed where they were long enough to finish their donuts, both boys surrendering their last bites to Audrey. By then the folksy band had stuttered to a start, chords and tentative fragments of songs drifting into the gathering crowd. Nathan checked his watch and reported that they should  _actually_ start any minute.

When they did, when they had been introduced and the first song clambered slowly to life upon the makeshift stage, Audrey closed her eyes to soak it up. It was the same band that had played the year before, and she had loved them then as well. There were no words, just tunes, soft at first and then lively.

            Three songs later, a song she actually recognized began, and she grabbed Duke’s mostly-empty cup and slid it into her own empty one to condense them. Nathan had already thrown his own away, so she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward where folks had begun to dance. Duke followed after, the cups in his hands finding their way into a garbage can along the way.

            Audrey aligned herself on Nathan’s far side, trusting that Duke would flank him to keep him from retreating. Her trust was not misplaced, Nathan bumping into Duke’s side when he tried to take a step back as soon as he caught on to what was happening.

            “I don’t know this one!” Nathan protested with a little laugh.

            “We’ll teach you,” Duke told him, hands on Nathan’s shoulders to put him in a good position between him and Audrey.

            “Come on, Nathan,” Audrey said, smiled warm and teasing. “They taught me last year, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Duke had taken her to this festival the year prior, when Nathan had been out of town with Dwight on business. This same song had played at least four times, and they’d been pros by the time they went home at the end of the night.

            By the time they began to dance now, the song was halfway finished, but the dance steps were not that difficult. Audrey did them slower than the rest of the crowd, letting Nathan watch her the first two repetitions, and when she and Duke shifted to become a part of the crowd, Nathan went along. He was a little slower than them still, picked the wrong next move a couple of times, but by the end of the song, he’d done three repetitions flawlessly.

            As the last notes died off and those of a new song began, Audrey made a happy noise and practically wriggled her way into Nathan’s jacket to hug him. He was a little breathless, but smiling, and he hugged her back, shooting Duke a pleased look of accomplishment.

            “Picked it up faster than Audrey did,” Duke told him, grinning at Audrey’s rolled eyes.

            “We don’t do this kind of dancing where I’m from,” she said without thinking about it.

            “You do now,” Nathan rumbled, giving her another squeeze before kissing the top of her head and letting her go.

            “Yeah,” she said, warm and happy despite the autumn chill in the air. Wherever she had come from once, Haven was her home now. The chilly, grinning boys before her were home now. She smiled again, reaching for both their hands. “Donuts?”

            Though they both chuckled, they took her outstretched hands in theirs, willing to go wherever she would lead them.

 


End file.
